title: Debridement by operators with varying degrees of experience: a comparative study on manikins.
abstract: The treatment of periodontally diseased root surfaces with power-driven instruments is becoming increasingly important as an alternative to the use of hand instruments. Root surfaces of artificial teeth on a manikin were debrided under simulated flap operation conditions to determine if effectiveness was dependent on the instrument used (curettes or a modified sonic scaler tip) and/or the operator's degree of experience. Two quadrants were treated with each instrument. A morphometric evaluation followed. Debridement was faster with the diamond-coated sonic scaler tip than with hand instruments. With the sonic scaler, the time necessary for treatment was reduced by 30%. The experienced operators treated about 80% of the root surface, while the inexperienced operators treated only about 65%. Treatment quality depended on the operator and not on the instrument used.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, University of Greifswald, School of Dentistry, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kocher
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Riedel
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Plagmann
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003815:Dentists / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008348:Manikins; D018915:Root Canal Preparation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013499:Surface Properties; D013997:Time Factors; D014093:Tooth, Artificial